Kimber customer service

I would like to say most customer service in our country is horrible . Most places wont even return a phone call , Well i am happy to say Kimber might be different . I purchased a gun from them about 6 months ago and i was out shooting it the other day and the magazine came apart on me after i loaded it into the gun . I called them and with out hesitation the lady asked me where i wanted the new one sent they didnt want to see the bad one or anything didnt even have to send it back to them. 3 days later i had my new magazine. I know we all here the bad things manufactures do but hardly any good .

I wouldn't get all warm and fuzzy yet,it was only a magazine.Shoot that thing before the year is up,just in case.They sure are proud of their product,they warranty it a whole year.Or is it they know close to half of their guns will have a problem and don't want to take the hit? I haven't figured which it is yet,but their marketing strategy is right there with Glock.Do you know how much more quality could be put into their product by only putting one full page ad in magazines instead of every 3rd page?

Well,yes and no,it's a guesstimate from a 2 year reliability poll.It wasn't really scientific,you posted how many of what brand gun you've owned and how many broke or weren't built right.Magazine problems and ammo stoppages weren't to be counted.Kimber was running close to a 50% failure rate.This was about a year ago so you can basically forget Kimber's current production.

Kimber's first generation were pretty good guns,then things changed.Frame feedramps started getting cut on the edge or out of spec and barrels were fit poorly,some getting lower lug bump causing 3point jambs.In that timeframe their suppliers were cheaping out on the MIM process,slide stops were common to snap,along with some safeties,and extractors either broke or wouldn't hold tension.This carried on in spurts for years.

I don't know the current crop so I can't comment on them,but there are some very good ones out there.I've known some to be flawless,some to be a nightmare,and some to just have a minor issue.I think Kimber is pretty lame for only giving a year warranty compared to other manufacturers,and I think they were overpriced.In todays market I think their prices are closer to reasonable,but I think most 1911s are priced high anyhow.I love 1911s,but it's been a fair assumption for years they were likely to need tuning for optimal reliability,and sometimes a good amount of work.When I fell in love with the platform I learned to work on them because I shot alot.I think they are overpriced because for the same money I can have an HK that will run right out of the box much longer,and need less maintanance when it comes to replacing springs.Don't get me wrong,I still love 1911s,but an HK is pretty darn close.

If yours works,don't worry,mags have been spotty for Kimber.Get some rounds through it so if there is a problem that will pop up quick it happens during the warranty period.Other than that,have some spare recoil and firing pin springs in the tool kit.I like to keep a spare extractor and slide stop in there just for insurance,even with my Colts.Anything else that breaks prematurely basically boils down to the way it was fitted when built,or lack of being properly fit.That is one 1911 downfall today,basically nothing is drop in because so many manufacturers build to different specs,and tighter tolerances compared to the GI pattern really aggrevate it.

Go shoot it and enjoy it,if a problem pops up let us know in the 1911 section and we can probably get you running againT.hese things are pretty easy to work on,but not necessarily simple.Something as simple as a recoil spring weight change affects other things you may not think of.

Personally I have had great response with their customer service as well. Had an issue with the feed ramp on a pro carry II. Wouldn't load hallow points reliably. Took the gun in and turn around time wasn't all that bad. I'd say about two weeks if I remember correctly. Took the pistol out to the range same day it arrived and it functioned perfectly. Ended up trading it for a full size stainless II a few months after though. No problems with the new pistol yet and am very satisfied with kimber's products and customer service.

I have 4 Kimber's and have not had any problems with any of them! I am sure one can have an issue with any manufacturer. I am not sure where the 50% failure rate came from but it is certainly not typical of mine or those folks I know who also own them. I would think that at the cost of Kimber's if quality was that bad their sales would be horrible. Our dealer here is Ohio which is also a dealer for all other major brands claim that they have less issues with the Kimber's they sell than any other brand and they sell more Kimbers each month than all other manufacturers combined. Again this could be all sales hype so the only thing I can attest to is my own experience which has been perfect to date.

My post explained the 50% deal.It was a poll that ran for about 2 years in 1911forum.com that has basically about a year old.It was all handguns,Sig,HK,Glock,Beretta,Hi Point,Lorcin,everything.1911 were classified by manufacturer.Mags,ammo and shooter induced problems were not to be consideredYou listed the guns you've owned and if it was good or not.While there is a fudge factor I'm sure,I would say it was fairly representative.People have said it was flawed because you only hear about the problem guns,but going through the poll there were many guns listed trouble free.Kimber came out with close to a 50% problem rate,Auto Ordnance and Norinco was of course quite higher.

As I said,there are good Kimbers all over,but there's alot with issues,towards the end of the first generationguns QC went down.Miscut feedramps,poor MIM vendors causing broken slidestops and extractors,quite a few things over the years since.Kimber's popularity is from a good gun in the start,and intense advertising and promotion like Glock-every gun rag has pages of ads for both.Also,any Kimber dealer is going to push them over other brands because you have to sell alot of them to keep a profitable dealership in place,otherwise you lose profit per piece.

If yours works fine,it probably is.Extractors are what I see as their biggest standing problem,even if I did have one that worked fine I would replace it with a quality one,they still use MIM and they are known to buy from low bidders.It may last forever,it may lose tension in a few thousand rounds and never hold tension afterwards.I expect most of my handguns to be carry worthy,any issues that pop up in testing or I know are common get resolved before I think about trusting my life to it.A $40 extractor and a little shaping and tuning are worth it to me for example.

1911s aren't quite what they were 30-40 years ago,everyone started jumping on the bandwagon and deviated from Colt spec trying to reinvent the wheel.Some worked out well,others not as well.Colt had issues in the 70s and a spat in the 80s,SA had issues too.My early SA won me a bunch of matches,I started building another just for matches and it was a freakin nightmare it was so out of spec.Happens to them all,I just noticed that Kimber is more concerned with getting as many as possible sold and worry about issues later.I think a smarter move would have been to save some of that advertising money and use it to increse the quality issues that are well known to 1911 lovers.That could have pushed them closer to the semi customs like Wilson and Brown.The fact that top pistolsmiths don't want to build on Kimber base couldn't reinforce this any better.I'm not talking the local excelent gunsmith that builds,or rebuilds,I'm talking Guild members and the guys that build $4K guns you trust your life to every day.Joe Chambers,a new smith that studied under Marvel and Heinie I believe,probably wouldn't touch a Kimber unless you insisted beyond his recommendations.He makes 1911s that canshoot 2MOA or less-that's 2" at 100 yds!If you're a southpaw,he's made a true left hand version 1911 from scratch.Talented young man and knows what he's doing.

Two week turnaround for a misbehaving Solo; gun is back in my possession and, by all indications, it is repaired.
So far, so good.
Not terribly crazy about the limits on the warranty; Smith's habit of warrantying them forever is a much better business model when you are selling an expensive product to a limited audience.
Moon

I have only had one occasion to contact Kimber customer service and they excelled. I own several Kimbers, shoot them in matches once a week and have never had a problem. I think I know why, but most of the bad mouthing I hear about Kimbers comes for those that don't own or have never owned a Kimber. As far as building off a frame, these gunsmiths build of what they can get cheap because they are going to rework almost everything anyway.